WATERFOWL - STUDY PLAN IV Ted Nichols, Supervising Biologist Lisa Clark, Biologist Trainee Waterfowl Monitoring Programs (Job IV-A) Atlantic Flyway Breeding Waterfowl Survey Division personnel and cooperators completed the New Jersey portion of the annual Atlantic Flyway Breeding Waterfowl Survey during early May but due to problems in the Federal web entry module, were not able to derive estimates until now. The 2018 estimates were: 14,778 mallard pairs, 2,363 black duck pairs, 13,635 wood duck pairs, 31,314 Canada goose pairs, and 67,926 total Canada geese. The mallard estimate was 33% below the 1993-2017 long term average (LTA) of 22,043 pairs. The mallard pair estimate has persisted below 20,000 pairs since 2010. The 2018 Atlantic Flyway survey wide mallard estimate was the second lowest on record (after 2017) and similarly 35% below the LTA. In New Jersey, black ducks were observed in the salt marsh and coastal plain strata and the pair estimate was 64% below the LTA; the black duck pair estimate has remained below 5,000 pairs since 2010. The survey-wide black duck estimate was 40% below the LTA. Although not statistically different from the LTA, the NJ wood duck pair estimate was up 60% while the survey-wide estimate has remained stable through time. The Canada goose total population estimate was 16% below the LTA and 2018 marked the fourth consecutive year where the population estimate was below 70,000 birds. Canada goose estimates peaked during the early 2000s at about 95,000 birds and have declined since that time due to expanded hunting seasons and cull operations. The state goal for Atlantic Flyway Resident Population Canada geese in New Jersey is 41,000 birds.Preseason Canada Goose Banding Program personnel completed preseason banding of Atlantic Flyway Resident Population Canada geese in New Jersey. A total of 1,538 Canada geese were leg banded including 969 adults (429 female; 540 male) and 568 goslings (311 female; 257 male) from 19 – 28 June. Captures were made at 38 sites in 14 counties. 830 Canada geese banded in previous years were recaptured. The band distribution was geographically proportional to the distribution of geese observed during the Breeding Waterfowl Survey. An effort was also made to band birds across the various landscape types (i.e. rural, tidal marsh, suburban, urban) in the state. The banding goal was 1,200 geese, which represents about 1.5% of the state’s resident population of Canadageese. The banded sample targeted 67% adult geese and 33% goslings as outlined in the Atlantic Flyway Resident Population Canada Goose Management Plan. Banding objectives were met. Recoveries of banded geese will provide information on the proportion, timing, distribution and derivation of the Canada goose population (Resident versus Migrant Populations) that are harvested during the hunting season. Recapture data from live, previously banded birds, play a critical role in calculating annual survival rates (e.g. Beston et al. 2014). Staff, interns and volunteers from all the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Refuges in New Jersey provided critical logistical and labor needs. Members of the Division’s Wildlife Conservation Corps provided much of the needed labor to accomplish this project. Banding data were entered into the appropriate software and sent to the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory. References:Beston, J. A., T. C. Nichols, P. M. Castelli, and C. K. Williams. 2014. Factors affecting survival of Atlantic flyway resident population Canada geese in New Jersey. Journal of Wildlife Management 78:612–619. Preseason Duck Banding Preseason duck banding operations began. Preseason banding will continue until the end of September. Atlantic Flyway Council Technical Section (Job IV-C) Program biologists commented on a SUNY and Univ. Texas research funding proposal concerning eastern mallard ecology and geneticsAtlantic Brant Migration and Breeding Ecology Study (2BRANTXX) T. Nichols collaborated with M. Weegman (Univ. Missouri) and C. Williams (Univ. Delaware) on 2 different proposals for Arctic Goose Joint Venture funding concerning Atlantic brant ecology. Extension and Other L. Clark provided migratory game bird identification and management training to 1 new Conservation Police officer. T. Nichols participated in the Division R3 meeting.

Joseph - I have the pleasure to wildfowl several years with members of the Leichestershire Club. Hunted on their priority waters (from pegs of course) and also up to Scotland to the Tay river Valley. Pinks and Graylegs. Shot my 1st Grayleg flighting on the Tay and have a picture in my gun room of close to 2000+ graylegs in a field outside Blairgowrie. Here's a posed picture flighting in the face of a Northeaster off the North Sea at the Eden Estuary